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Radar Tires runner-up in the Vegas to Reno race

Once again, Radar Tires served notice to the long-course off-road racing world. This time it was during the Best in the Desert General Tire Vegas to Reno presented by Fox. In its Best in the Desert debut, Radar Tires finished second during the grueling 535-mile endurance race, the longest off-road race in the United States.

Jason Coleman, owner/driver of the Coleman Motorsports No. 1071 Jimco Buggy, finished second in class. Coleman used special non-DOT size 33X10.50R15 Radar Renegade R5 race tires on his brand new Jimco chassis Best in The Desert Class 1000 buggy.

This marks the first entry and podium for Radar Tires in the Best in the Desert Series. Now in its sophomore racing season, Radar Tires has accumulated a total of seven podium finishes in long-course off-road racing. So far this season, teams running Radar Tires have won the San Felipe 250 and the Baja 500, and were runners-up at the Imperial Valley 250. In its rookie season, Radar Tires won the 2013 Mojave Off-Road Racing Enthusiasts (MORE) New Years 200 race in Barstow, Calif. Radar Tires finished third during the San Felipe 250, then in May, Radar Tires dominated the SCORE International Baja 500 en route to its second long-course win.

“This is a fantastic debut for Radar Tires in Best in the Desert and Jason’s new Class 1000 buggy,” said Gary Blalock, Radar Tires Motorsports Manager. “Coleman Motorsports proved it is a force to be reckoned with this weekend! We are pleased to have been included as a Coleman Motorsports partner; Jason runs a first-class operation and we’re thrilled to have been part of his program. We knew the Radar Renegade R5 tires were in good hands with Jason and his team.”

Best in the Desert sets the field based on a random draw, so Coleman started 12th among 29 Class 1000 entrants. Long-course endurance race buggies have GPS trackers that record every race mile. Coleman crossed the finish line first, but had to wait for official results from Best in the Desert officials. Once all Class 1000 entrants completed the race and GPS trackers were reviewed, Coleman was named the runner-up upon official scoring.

“We had a great race and everything went to plan,” said Coleman. “I drove the entire race and I couldn’t have done it without my navigator Mike Hill. There were plenty of checkpoints and he made sure we were heading in the right direction, because if you miss a checkpoint, you receive a time penalty. We were lucky and did not get a penalty.

“Our Radar Renegade R5 tires were incredible,” continued Coleman. “We had one flat along the route, but that’s because we hit something, broke the wheel which caused the flat. The other three Radar Renegades went all 535 miles and they look great! I know some of my competitors cannot say that about their tires.

Scott Youngren, driver of the No. 1043 Duvall chassis two-seater 2.4 Ecotec buggy, also raced in the Class 1000 group on Radar Renegade R5 tires. He started 11th and finished in sixth place.

Television coverage of the Vegas to Reno will air on Oct. 19 at 5p.m. ET on NBC Sports and Oct. 23 at 4 p.m.

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